Oklahoma Dumps Ohio State — College Football Week 2 Recap

Primetime battles between ranked teams in Week 2 were sure to shuffle the AP rankings. Here’s a recap of the week’s biggest games:

Oklahoma Treated Ohio State Like No. 2

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Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns — and he planted an Oklahoma flag in the middle of Ohio State’s home field afterward — as the fifth-ranked Sooners trounced the second-ranked Buckeyes, 31-16, on Saturday night. Mayfield’s cocky behavior after the big win was a direct response to Ohio State players singing their school’s fight song in the middle of Oklahoma’s home field after routing the Sooners 45-24 last season.

Heisman candidate Mayfield was pitch perfect in the second half Saturday, leading Oklahoma (2-0) to four touchdowns, while the Sooners defense clamped down on the Buckeyes offense. True freshman running back J.K. Dobbins ran for 72 yards and a touchdown for Ohio State (1-1), but quarterback J.T. Barrett, who had four TD passes in last season’s meeting, threw for just 183 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. He was especially ineffective on third downs.

Clemson, USC & Georgia All Got Quality Wins Over Ranked Teams

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Saturday night featured three “other” games between Top 25 ranked teams, with No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 USC and No. 15 Georgia each winning against ranked opponents. All three teams have moved up in the new coaches poll released Sunday afternoon.

Clemson’s defense registered 11 sacks and the No. 3 Tigers dominated No. 13 Auburn, 14-6, on Saturday night. Despite getting knocked out of the game earlier, quarterback Kelly Bryant ran for two touchdowns for the ACC Tigers. He led the two long drives that he finished with scores. Defensive end Austin Bryant had four of the sacks for Clemson (2-0). Auburn (1-1) had just 117 yards of offense in the game. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham absorbed all 11 sacks. His protection will need to get better for his team to compete in the SEC this season.

Quarterback Sam Darnold was 21 of 26 passing for 316 yards and four touchdowns, and sixth-ranked USC clobbered No. 14 Stanford 42-24, on Saturday night. Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett each caught two touchdown passes from Darnold, who also threw two picks. Keller Chryst passed for 172 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinal (1-1), while the Trojans rolled up 623 total yards. The game stayed close thanks to the mistake-filled play of USC (2-0). They’ll need to be sharper if they expect to be a national title contender.

Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:39 left, and No. 15 Georgia beat No. 24 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on Saturday. The Bulldogs physical defense made the one-point lead stand up over the closing minutes by stopping the Irish on downs on one possession and forcing a turnover on another. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm was 16 for 29 for 141 yards with a touchdown pass and two turnovers in his first-ever start for Georgia (2-0). After a promising start to the season, Notre Dame (1-1) will need to regroup. It has three more currently ranked opponents on its schedule: USC, Miami and Stanford.

You Should Be Sad You Missed The Washington State - Boise State Game

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East Coast residents likely missed the most exciting game of the day: No. 20 Washington State’s 47-44 comeback win over Boise State in triple-overtime. Tyler Hilinski threw game-tying and game-winning touchdown passes to Jamal Morrow to give the Cougars the victory. The underdog Broncos let the game slip away despite leading by 21 points in the fourth quarter.

After Washington State's feverish comeback, the teams traded field goals in the first overtime and touchdowns in the second. A field goal in the third extra stanza gave Boise State the lead, but Hilinski threw a 22-yard strike to Morrow to seal the win.

Quarterback Montell Cozart replaced starter Brett Rypien late in the first quarter for the Broncos (1-1). He threw for 161 yards and two scores, but he was helpless as his defense allowed Washington State (2-0) to tie the game after trailing 31-10 early in the fourth quarter. Hilinski, the Cougars backup quarterback, threw for 240 yards and three scores in relief of starter Luke Falk, who was injured on a fumble returned for a score late. The win should allow Washington State to jump in the new polls — and perhaps more East Coast fans will stay up later to see them.

Lamar Jackson Is Not Ready To Give Up The Heisman

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Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville played like he wants a second award on Saturday. Jackson rolled up 525 total yards and six touchdowns as his No. 17 Cardinals beat North Carolina, 47-35. The game was tightly competitive through three quarters, with Louisville (2-0) pulling away with 20 fourth-quarter points on North Carolina (0-2).

Jackson passed for 393 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 132 yards and three more scores. He now has more than 1,000 yards of total offense in two games. Jackson and the Cardinals face a much greater defensive challenge next Saturday against third-ranked Clemson. If Louisville can win that game, they may find themselves in the thick of the college football playoff hunt.

Rivalry Games: Penn State Threw Points — And Shade — At Pitt

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Fourth-ranked Penn State avenged one of its 2016 regular-season losses by beating Pitt, 33-14, on Saturday. Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley threw for three touchdowns and running back Saquon Barkley had 88 yards rushing and a touchdown reception. Qadree Ollison ran for 96 yards for the Panthers (1-1), but the Pitt offense was hamstrung by three turnovers and many stalled drives.

Getting the win in front of one of the largest Beaver Stadium crowds in years apparently made Penn State (2-0) head coach James Franklin very confident. After the game, Franklin said his team’s victory over their longtime in-state major conference rival was “like beating Akron.” Franklin and the Nittany Lions’ attitude is pretty swaggy coming from a program that was on probation for a child sex abuse scandal involving former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky just a few years ago.

In other rivalry games:

Iowa beat Iowa State, 44-41, in overtime when quarterback Nate Stanley connected with Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a 5-yard touchdown. It was the third consecutive victory in the series for the Hawkeyes (2-0). Stanley passed for 333 yards and five touchdowns against the Cyclones (1-1). Jacob Park threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns for Iowa State.

Quarterback Tyler Huntley had 389 total yards and a touchdown and Utah beat Brigham Young, 19-13, in the teams’ Holy War rivalry on Saturday. The victory gave the Utes (2-0) seven consecutive wins over the rival Cougars (1-2) and 16 wins in the last 19 games between the teams. Darren Carrington led Utah with seven catches and 129 yards.

Tyler Rogers threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns and New Mexico State beat New Mexico, 30-28, on Saturday night. The Aggies (1-1) forced four turnovers in the win, but they nearly gave the game away to the Lobos. New Mexico (1-1) scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and State had to knock down a potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempt late to preserve the win.